


Here and There

by pipisafoat



Series: Jamieverse [4]
Category: In Plain Sight
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-29
Updated: 2011-05-29
Packaged: 2017-10-19 21:42:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/205516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pipisafoat/pseuds/pipisafoat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Brandi leaves home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Here and There

"Hey, lady." A foot nudged her gently, and she startled awake. "Hey, you okay?"

She blinked and looked up at the man. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep here. I just sat down for a minute...."

He smiled and offered a hand to help pull her to her feet. "Are you okay? Can I call you a cab?"

"No, it's okay. I just live right down there." She pointed down the street towards a likely apartment complex, grateful when he nodded.

"Well, if you're sure. You be safe now."

* * *

She doesn't bother to check out, just sneaks out of the hospital when nobody's looking. She leaves a note on her pillow for Mary, calls a cab, and walks out of the room as though she were just visiting someone in there. Easy does it, she thinks, and she smiles confidently at the nurse who just got on shift. "Have a good day."

"You too, hon," the nurse replies, and Brandi breathes easier. It's all going to work.

* * *

"Get away from there!"

She jumped but stayed hunched over the food on the table. "It's mine now," she told the man firmly. "You weren't fast enough."

"You're stealing my leftovers! This is my diner!" he roared, spraying her with saliva as he grabbed her arm and pulled her off the bench. She kneed him in the balls and sat back down.

"Not anymore, it isn't."

* * *

She gets a taxi to her sister's house, tells the driver to wait around the corner for her, and throws some clothes and a toothbrush in a bag. Pausing by the door, she comes to a quick decision. She grabs a picture off the fridge, and her cellphone lands on the kitchen table as she leaves.

"We've got to stop at the bank first," she tells the taxi driver.

* * *

"Hey, Brandi?"

She looked up from the bed of the pickup where she was sitting on her bag, clutching a photograph in her left hand.

"This is the last rest stop before I have to get off the interstate. Are you sure you'll be alright here?"

She nodded. "Thanks for taking me so far."

He scratched awkwardly at the back of his head. "Yeah, sure, no problem. Look, I'm coming back through on Monday - that's three days from now. If you're still here...."

"I won't be." She struggled to put a smile on her face, hoped it showed confidence instead of hopelessness. "Thanks, Rob."

Rob nodded and pulled out his wallet. "Here, take this." He thrust a couple of bills and a slip of paper into her right hand hastily. "Take care of yourself. If you need me, you can call, okay?"

Brandi nodded again and climbed out of his truck. "I'll pay you back some day."

* * *

It's nothing to pull out Mary's ID and pretend to be her. Nothing to take a few thousand from her bank account. Nothing to buy an airplane ticket with cash for the next domestic plane leaving, no matter where it's going. She marvels at her foresight to have snatched Mary's license years ago; she's mostly relieved it just hasn't expired yet, and that they look close enough that she can pass.

As she buckles her seat belt and looks around at the other passengers, she wonders suddenly what she's doing. _Go home,_ a voice in her head seems to tell her. _Go home, do right by your son, no matter how you feel about it._ She's thinking about getting off the plane when her seatmate jars her arm, spilling her bag a little bit. She waves off the apology and picks up what fell out: the shirt, the wallet, and the picture.

"Cute baby," her seatmate interjects. "Is he yours?"

Brandi swallows hard and puts everything back in her bag. "No, he's my sister's."

* * *

"Yeah, here, this is fine." She unbuckled and smiled at her driver. "I can't thank you enough. This will mean the world to my mother."

"Tell her I said I hope she gets better soon. And enjoy Seattle while you're here!" he replied, and the engine roared as he pulled away from the hospital. She waited until the car was out of sight before walking away from the doors, looking for the nearest park or food kitchen.


End file.
